312mm upgrade or new discs and pads

d1n93r

Active Member
Nov 13, 2011
373
0
waringstown, northern ireland
hi all, i have a 110 leon with the standard brakes on it. i have been having a read about the 312mm upgrade and its gonna cost a bit so is it really worth it. i had looked at getting some EBC turbo groved discs and some green stuff pads. and just putting them on or is it worth going to the 312. she is only 110 now but looking at getting her mapped out to 140 or so. so gonna need good brakes then. any thoughts?

thank, D1N93R
 

S15YCE

Active Member
Sep 15, 2011
34
0
Hereford
You just need to buy the 312mm carriers (off older s3's and tt's etc) and can use the rest of your current setup as long as your current discs are i think 288mm.

I bought a set of carriers and calipers of an s3 off ebay few weeks ago for just over 50 quid.
 

S15YCE

Active Member
Sep 15, 2011
34
0
Hereford
256 280 and 288 are the three disc diameter sizes listed under 1.9 Diesel Leon 1M on euro Car Parts

Mine is a 2002 20vt cupra and has 288 standard.

Not sure which size disc your model would come with as standard but im guessing at either 280 or 288.
 

Leon2012

Active Member
Jan 24, 2012
480
1
Hi,

It's a bit of a nightmare upgrading to 312mm with the 110 TDI, because you have to upgrade the hubs and calipers as well as the carriers, discs and pads, because the carrier on the 110 TDI is attached to the hub.

So you're looking at a fair bit for the whole lot, many hundreds of pounds, so the first thing I recommend do is upgrade the front pads like I did, as that will make a huge difference.

The ones you want are Ferodo DS Performance FDS1398, which although are £100, they give great stopping power and are much better than standard, so I think you'd be fine with them.

It's also important to bed new pads in properly, and you can find guides on doing it - I got mine hot, smoking and stinking & afterwards they became much better.

Btw, the Ferodo FDS1398 pads are better than Green Stuff, etc (I would stay away from EBC stuff for sure), and would easily be enough just for a Stage 1 remap (like I've got as well)

If you need new discs just get standard OEM quality ones (the more expensive ones on Euro Car Parts), not cheapo EBC 'turbo grooved' or any nonsense like that, as they're generally crap quality and can break.

-You don't need grooves with a remapped 110 TDI, and even if you wanted them for looks, you can get eliptical grooved discs from Badger5 here on SCN, which are much better than EBC grooved/drilled discs.

The eliptical grooves look the best and give the best performance, but they add cost, and you don't need them unless you're racing on a track, in which case the extra heat dissipation would be good in helping to avoid the discs overheating and the pads fading.
 
Last edited:

jase750

Full Member
Jan 3, 2003
662
0
Stoke on Trent
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The eliptical grooves look the best and give the best performance, but they add cost, and you don't need them unless you're racing on a track, in which case the extra heat dissipation would be good in helping to avoid the discs overheating and the pads fading.

the grooves aren't for dispersing heat they're for cleaning the pads of dust and gas
 

Leon2012

Active Member
Jan 24, 2012
480
1
We are both right jase. I did mention about pad fade avoidance, so technically I'm right on two counts and you are right on one and wrong on one :p [B)] lol

badger5 said:
grooves are there to dissipate heat, but to allow the pads face to be swept and any outgassing from pads when being used in anger to be able to escape from the pad an dnot hold it off the disk face (fade)
there is more bite on a pad which is being faced by grooves. keeps them fresher biting for longer in their life
 
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